Bill Hicks interviews and features

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Interview: Matt Harlock, co-director of AMERICAN: THE BILL HICKS STORY
Adam Rayner
October 8, 2010
obsessedwithfilm.com

To coincide with the home entertainment release of ‘American: The Bill Hicks Story’, I had the opportunity to discuss the film with one of its directors, Matt Harlock. I started by questioning the title, ‘American’. “Bill was an American, through and through, and despite how some perceive him, he was very patriotic. He loved the ideas that America was founded on but hated what it had become; much of his comedy is based on him examining these aspects of American society and offering solutions to the problems.”

In addition to this there was also another intelligent ploy in the title. “We actually discovered during production that there wasn’t any other movie simply called ‘American’, which astonished us. So we decided this would be a wonderful opportunity to be the first to have a movie called ‘American’ and by doing so and having this novelty, perhaps attract some people who otherwise wouldn’t be attracted by ‘Bill Hicks’ or ‘The Bill Hicks Story’. American is a word that raises questions. Just like Bill did.”

Bill Hicks is often referred to as being the comedian’s comedian, yet one area of the film that left me wanting was the lack of any of Hicks’ contemporaries like Jay Leno or David Letterman or even his great influencer Woody Allen. While Harlock said this was the initial intention to have these people paying their tributes, during the making they become less important and actually would not have worked in the film’s cohesion. “They would have been nice, and they certainly would have given people an idea of how respected Bill was, but we realised we were doing a very personal movie. And also if we had these people talking, it would not have fit with the style of the film, where everyone is giving first hand information of the real Bill Hicks behind the scenes.”

I liked and admired many areas of the film, from the development of the narrative to the empathy that was created for the character of Bill. However, it was the inventive and unique technique of using photographs and animation to make the film come alive and feel like a live action movie that really caught my eye. Harlock was pleased to receive such high praise, but was very thankful to receive it.

“We wanted to find a way to draw the viewer into the world. We thought that in order to gain this film a cinema release we needed to make it cinematic, and simply having talking heads, apart from being quite stale, is not cinematic. We were inspired after watching ‘The Kids Stays in the Picture’. They used old photographs from Robert Evans’ vault and had voice over playing over the photos to create the effect of watching moving images. We wanted to go a step further, and thankfully, much like Robert Evans’, Bill had a huge archive of photos from everything he ever did. Little did we know that this technique of animating photos, which we started calling ‘documation’, then decided to go with simply the photo animation technique would take four years to complete.”

Despite the shock of that discovery still quite evident in Harlock’s reaction, he certainly feels it was worth the wait, and I agree with him. The ‘documation’, which I think, has a nice ring to it, is something special and does so much for the aesthetic of the piece.

I’ve been intrigued for some time about the idea of a Hicks biopic. In a time when everyone of any notoriety is getting the film treatment, Hicks, although less known than some, surely seems more worthy than most, given the events of his life. I enquired about the likelihood of a Hicks biopic. “Russell Crowe owned the rights for a number of years. He bought them from the family and was developing a script for years and he was going to play Hicks, but he couldn’t quote get the script right so in the last six months he returned the movie rights to the family. And I think that’s the most important thing: getting it right. Both myself and Paul and the family would be in support of a movie, or anything for that matter that draws attention to Bill and his work, but it has to be done well with the right people. That’s the challenge.”

When pushed to cast the part of Hicks, Harlock was hesitant, as if the decision would be too big for him, but eventually suggested ‘There Will be Blood’s’ Paul Dano: “it has to be someone who can play between 18 and 32, and also embrace all of Hicks’ traits and carry the same power and charisma that Bill did.”

I then steered my conversation to Matt’s future projects; this documentary has gained strong critical praise across America and now the UK, so surely he will be a man in demand. But Harlock still hasn’t had time to focus on his next venture: “I dedicated four years of my life to this one, I need some time to sit back and take it all in. I have a number of projects on my slate, but haven’t commit to any particular one yet”. Given the unique, inventive, personal and insightful style American: The Bill Hick’s Story’, I have no doubt that whatever he chooses, Harlock’s future is bright one.

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Hicks gets in his licks
Film traces unlikely fall and rise of furious comic
LARRY GETLEN
April 3, 2011
New York Post

Ordinary human beings might introduce themselves to alcohol by sampling a simple beer or wine cooler. But the late great comedian Bill Hicks was no ordinary human being. The first time he ever drank, it was at a comedy club, and he ordered — and quickly downed — seven margaritas. Then, he went onstage.

“He basically yelled at the audience and told them what a bunch of idiots they were,” says longtime Hicks friend Kevin Booth, who, when they were teens, would help Hicks sneak out of his house to go to open mikes.

As we learn in “American: The Bill Hicks Story,” a documentary on Hicks’ life directed and produced by Matt Harlock and Paul Thomas that opens Friday at Cinema Village, that night wasn’t just a drunken lark, but an important benchmark in Hicks’ comedy for how it opened him up to express his anger.

Hicks’ material ultimately revolved around what he saw as American complacency. In one routine, he discussed reading a book at a Waffle House, and having a waitress ask him, “What are you reading for?” Stunned, he answered he reads for many reasons, one being “so I don’t end up being a f - - king waffle waitress.”

Another Hicks target was the nation’s drug policy. In noting that stories about drugs were always negative, he envisioned a positive report, following a detailed account of how a man on LSD realized “we are all one consciousness.” His broadcast ended with, “Here’s Tom with the weather.”

But Hicks, who died of cancer in 1994 at age 32, didn’t start as a firebrand, beginning his comedy career in his teens as a clean-cut local comedy sensation. He loosened up soon after, and experimented with psychedelic mushrooms, which he says made him approach his material in broader terms.

“I think he had a run of bad shows, and was feeling like, f - - k it — I’ll try it,” says Booth. “The audience was drunk, he’s on this other plane, he can’t connect, so he says, ‘I’ll get drunk and meet you where you guys are.’ ”

The seven-margarita night — which included blaming the audience for making Gary Coleman a star — brought his anger out onstage like never before. “He was a really nice guy,” says Thomas, “and the barrier he had to break was not being afraid to offend the audience. Alcohol played a part in unlocking that. If you have this hard-wired desire to tear the veil from their eyes and show them what the world is really like, that can lead to hatred when they don’t understand what you’re getting at,” says Harlock. “He was willing to take that further than anyone else, and alcohol was the key to that.”

But despite how it emboldened him, the boozing soon became a liability, as comedians would send drinks to the stage to see how much he could consume while performing. Within about a month, his onstage abilities were taking a hit. “He was losing stamina and energy,” says Booth. “The anger and bitterness were funny, but the alcohol was taking away his ability to focus and pump out a good hour long set.”

Seeing the need for a change, Hicks moved to New York in 1987 and quit drugs and alcohol. With his perception and anger now focused, the already-talented Hicks became the greatest comedian of his era. “It was like he’d hatched out of a cocoon,” says Harlock. “He got the shine in his eyes back. He became the performer we know.”

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Bill Hicks Remembered On His 50th Birthday With The Release Of ‘12/16/61.’

In celebration of what would have been comedian Bill Hicks' 50th birthday, Ryko is releasing 12/16/61, a 5-track EP containing previously unreleased material. Recorded in Texas when Hicks was just 21 years old, the EP fully encompasses his short but influential career as a satirist, social critic, and stand-up comedian. Available digitally on December 13, the release comes on the heels of SPIN naming Hicks' 1997 release Rant in E Minor as #11 of the "40 Greatest Comedy Albums of All Time."

The aptly titled EP is a reference to Bill's birthday - December 16, 1961. His brother Steve Hicks explains:

"Harder to grasp that Bill would be turning 50 and that he has been gone almost 18 years, is the idea that he has reached so many people around the world. Old fans remain fiercely loyal and new fans discover Bill and his work every day. So, appropriately, this is a big Thanks to all of you. Thanks for remembering Bill and thanks for keeping his memory alive. Enjoy this little tidbit from a 21-year-old Bill. Happy Birthday Brother."

The release of the EP comes 4 weeks in advance of the digital release of 2010's acclaimed box set The Essential Collection, a career retrospective featuring Hicks' best stand-up performances and several hours of unseen footage, interviews, photographs and more. Previously available only as a physical package, the comedic genius of Bill Hicks lives on in this updated, digital package. This 4-disc set contains all 50 skits from the physical box set's two audio CDs plus a previously unreleased, intimate audio journal titled "The Adventure." Lo-Fi Troubadour, a collection of songs written and performed by Bill (and previously only available on the physical box set's download card) will now feature the never-before-released song, "Ice Cold Macaroni." The Essential Collection digital box set is scheduled for a January 17 release date on Ryko.

Bill Hicks' extraordinary social commentary is as fresh and stunning today as it was in the 80's and 90's. He engaged his audiences by confronting mainstream beliefs and hypocrisy in a manner that provoked thought as well as laughter. Hicks called himself "Chomsky with dick jokes" and The New Yorker described him as an "exhilarating comic thinker in a renegade class all his own." Hicks' career was short in span, but powerful in impact. His rigorous touring schedule from the early 80's into the early 90's often tallied over 300 nights per year. He appeared on Late Night with David Letterman eleven times during his career. He also gained a dedicated fan base in the UK where he currently is listed as the UK's 4th Greatest Comedian in their 2010 poll (conducted by Channel 4).

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Here's an interview with Bill's brother Steve. It's quite interesting.

http://traffic.libsyn.com/trr/Steve_Hicks_part_1_Tom_Rhodes_Radio.mp3